خَلَقَ السَّماواتِ وَالأَرضَ بِالحَقِّ ۖ يُكَوِّرُ اللَّيلَ عَلَى النَّهارِ وَيُكَوِّرُ النَّهارَ عَلَى اللَّيلِ ۖ وَسَخَّرَ الشَّمسَ وَالقَمَرَ ۖ كُلٌّ يَجري لِأَجَلٍ مُسَمًّى ۗ أَلا هُوَ العَزيزُ الغَفّارُ
He created the heavens and the earth in truth. He winds the night over the day, and winds the day over the night, and He has disposed the sun and the moon, each moving for a specified term. Look! He is the all-mighty, the all-forgiver!
EXEGESIS
Yukawwiru: wind, rotate, as one would wrap a scarf or a belt around one’s body. This is a very expressive way of describing the cyclical replacement of the day by the night, and the night by the day, which periodically cover each other in twenty-four-hour cycles. It is as if God takes the night and winds it around the day, and takes the day and winds it around the night, both happening incessantly round the globe. He draws the night’s cover over the day, which pursues it swiftly, and [He created] the sun, the moon, and the stars, [all of them] disposed by His command (7:54); And a sign for them is the night, which We strip of daylight (36:37). The verse could also refer to the lengthening and shortening of daytime and night-time across the seasons of the year. A more common Quranic term (that can apply to either phenomenon) is īlāj, which is to make something enter something else: He makes the night pass into the day and makes the day pass into the night (22:61, 31:29, 35:13, 57:6; also 3:27).
On a secondary level, the winding of the night over the day and vice versa could be a reference to God’s direction of affairs. This would complement His creation of the heavens and the earth, expressed at the beginning of the verse (see 7:54). Mentioning the night before the day in this verse confirms the precedence of the night over the day in the Islamic calendar and shariah.
Ajal musammā: specified term. This concept has been used in different contexts in the Quran. Here it means when the order of the universe crashes, the heavenly bodies will cease to rotate around one another, and the solar system will disintegrate. That would mark the end of this world and/or the onset of the hereafter. See verse 6:2 for more on ajal musammā.
EXPOSITION
These verses relate to the previous verses in two ways: 1. They show how God is all-paramount by discussing some of His signs of power and majesty. 2. They show how those who turn away from their Lord are ingrates by describing the all-encompassing bounties and mercy of God.
Not only did God send down the Quran with the truth (verse 2), but also He created the heavens and the earth in truth. Anything that God does is completely filled with the truth without any mixture of falsehood or vanity, whether it be His writing of the book of creation (takwīn) or the book of legislation (tashrīʿ). That is because God is the truth (22:6, 22:62, 24:25, 31:30) and the truth is from Him (2:147, 3:60). An implication of the truthfulness of God’s creation is: each moving for a specified term. In other words, We did not create the sky and the earth and whatever is between them for play. Had We desired to take up some diversion We would have surely taken it up with Ourselves, were We to do [so] (21:16-17). God’s orderly creation – including the heavens, the earth, the sun and the moon, as well as the constant winding of the day and the night – is intended for some end and purpose; it is not for a game or pastime for a few days, nor for a pointless infinite regress.
The magnificent creation of God also proves that He is the all-mighty, for He has total dominance over the day, the night, the sun, and the moon, and has set them in order according to His command for a specified term. This serves as a word of caution for the audience to take heed in this life, because they will face the consequences of their actions in the hereafter. Yet, God’s might and power is coupled with His infinite mercy: He is the all-forgiver. Hence, if any servant has wronged himself by disobeying God, he should have no fear of returning to Him, as we will see in further detail in verses 53-55. Indeed I am all-forgiver toward him who repents, becomes faithful and acts righteously, and then follows guidance (20:82). This trait also explains why God does not immediately punish the infidels and wrongdoers. These two traits create a balanced mix of fear and hope in the audience – a balance that is crucial for constructive movement and endeavour towards perfection. The same balance is observed when comparing the last attribute discussed here (the all-forgiver) with the last attribute in the previous verse (the all-paramount).
REVIEW OF TAFSĪR LITERATURE
Some contemporary exegetes have expressed their fascination with the Quran as it talks about the winding of night and day over one another, for it is strongly indicative of the spherical shape of the earth – a scientific fact that was discovered several centuries after the Quran was revealed. This verse has thus been identified as a scientific miracle of the Quran.
While winding primarily pertains to a rotational movement about a round object, it is important to bear in mind that the other Quranic descriptions of the exchange of day and night do not have this indication.
When a knowledgeable person speaks about anything, all aspects and undertones of their speech is an evidence of their encompassing knowledge. This is why the scientific statements of the Quran are bound to be true. Therefore, it is certainly commendable to use scientific discoveries to gain more insight into those verses of the Quran that talk about natural phenomena. However, there is a vital difference between employing science in service of Quranic studies, and employing the Quran in service of scientific studies! The success of science in the modern world has led many Muslim thinkers to seek the latter instead of the former, in order to show the veracity of their religion.
A fundamental element of religion is faith in the unseen (al-ghayb), something that is completely beyond the scope of science. Some Muslims are still awaiting scientific discoveries to confirm what is mentioned in the Quran and hadith. They are confident that modern science will someday make such a confession – a conformity that would strengthen their faith. They fail to realise that this entails a religion without faith in the unseen, which means the eradication of religion altogether. The idea of proving the Quran by the scientific method means to mould the Quran in a cast in which it does not fit, because faith is different from science by nature.
The scientific points that the Quran makes – although true – are only peripheral discussions when conveying much deeper messages. When the preceding points and verses are put together, it becomes clear that pursuing these indications and seeking signs and proofs for scientific findings from the Quran would be missing the message of this holy book altogether. One should always seek what the Quran has been sent for: [This is] a book We have sent down to you that you may bring mankind out from darkness into light, by the command of their Lord, to the path of the all-mighty, the all-laudable (14:1), as opposed to employing it to plunge into more darkness.
The Quran is a rope, and you are in a well;
Those who are not wise, it leads them to Hell.
The problem’s with you, and not with the rope;
You did not care to climb up the slope.
Don’t get caught up with the details, my friend;
Beyond the means, discern the end.
TOPICAL ARTICLES
See Topical Article: Test and Trial.
[1] Raghib, under k-w-r.
[2] Qaraati, 8/143.
[3] Alusi, 12/230.
[4] Razi, 26/424.
[5] Qaraati, 8/143.
[6] Qutb, 5/3039; Kashif, 6/395-396; Furqan, 25/289-290.
[7] Rūmī, Mathnawī, v. 3, lines 4212-4214.